Caffè Doria — Restaurant in Rome

This is the Cafe for the Doria Pamphilj Museum (5 stars too) though one might not even know it entering from its quiet, side street entrance where it functions like any other Roman cafe, open to the public. There's a subtle access from the museum side as well. All of the seating inside is good- no small thing in Rome. The cafe is old world elegant while still casual, having what amounts to my very favorite small fountain of Rome, The Fish Fountain (by no means its real name). The menu covers every possibility from having a mere espresso or tea or juice, through snacks and pastry, to a full meal should one desire. While by no means consistently good, nothing in our many visits was bad, and some things were surprisingly wonderful (a plate of eggplant anyone?).

The service is the usual Roman ridiculous, and if one can make peace, or laugh at some of the friendly negligent absurdities of Roman service one will have a better time everywhere. Try not to be in too much of a hurry. We made an effort to go to Caffe Doria more towards mid afternoon because the waiter who found it easiest to tell us they were out of everything was usually gone by then. And yet, weird, I really couldn't recommend any...

Just arrived to Rome, first place we went to after checking in to our hotel. Went in for breakfast but received a terrible attitude by the female waitress. Unwelcoming, rude and condescending. Had to walk out due to such poor service.

We were seated at the worst possible table, right by the entrance to the kitchen when there were many other tables available (which didn’t have a reservation sign on them), the couple that were in the line before us were seated and given menus promptly, their order was taken soon after. We were squeezed in behind them (there were many other tables empty). The waitress rudely plumped the menus on the table rather than handing them to us. We waited ages for someone to take our order which never happened, during that time many people paid and had left the tables close to us. We decided to move across to a table that was empty and easier to access. The waitress saw us doing this and rudely shouted “that table is reserved”, rather than offering us another table she just walked off. This made us feel unwelcomed in this cafe and so we walked out due to feeling the service was very poor indeed. I can come back in today and talk to a manager if you’d like? Let me...

I had brunch here this morning. I ordered the avocado toast with spinach and Parmesan cheese, along with a matcha latte. I was seated at Table 10 around 11 AM.

When I finished, I let one of the staff members know that I was ready to pay. He told me to go to the counter. As I approached the counter, I noticed a queue of people waiting to order pastries. So I decided to take a quick look around the café first before returning to pay.

I had seen some photos of the outdoor seating near a garden of this cafe and was curious to find out where those seats were, as I may consider dining there next time.

However, as I stepped out the door near the reception area, the same staff member came after me and questioned why I hadn’t paid the bill. I explained that I was simply looking for the outdoor seating and was about to show him the photos I had seen. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem interested in listening or understanding. His attitude came across as accusatory—implying that I was trying to leave without paying.

This was the first time in my life that someone has ever questioned my intention to pay a bill. Ridiculous.

Despite this unpleasant experience, I’m still giving four stars out of...